Goblins are born in broods, from a single father and up to hundreds of mothers. A single brood-father may sire thousands of goblin children, who are all raised together, with no knowledge of their specific mother. The brood-father, over the course of his lifetime, will eventually choose exactly one queen, who will mother the next brood-father, the first born son.
Most goblins live in communities around a single goblin lineage. Therefore, all of their neighbors and friends are one's half-siblings. This can lead to bickering, but very rarely outright violent conflict. Living among siblings contributes to a camaraderie that many goblins feel towards their brood-mates.
The brood is the original accident, still running. Goblins first took shape in low, wet country where loose magic pooled in standing water and rotting leaves, the kind of substrate a stray resonance can sink into and feed on. Nearly all such resonances gutter out. One did not. It found a way to copy itself through living matter, and the copying has never stopped since. The brood structure is the shape of that first accident kept intact: a single unbroken line, brood-father to one chosen queen to the next brood-father, is the loop that carries the original working forward, and the hundreds of mothers and thousands of half-siblings are the matter it spends to keep that loop closed.
This is why a goblin lineage never simply dwindles away. It cannot afford to. Open the loop and the resonance that animates the whole brood has nowhere left to run. A brood that loses its father has not lost a leader, it has lost the one thread the entire structure exists to carry, and a brood-father with no chosen queen is a working a single death from ending. The first brood and the ten-thousandth are the same command copied without a flaw, which is why goblins breed true down the whole length of their history, and why a brood holds together even through its endless bickering. Every face in the hall is the same accident as your own, set going half a step apart.
A brood-hall at first light. One long room, the sleeping mothers ranked along both walls, and at the center the brood-father's bench where the day's nursing is parceled out by a steward who keeps no records because none are needed. Every child in the hall is half-sibling to every other. None of them knows which mother is his, and by old custom none of them asks.
Vitals
- Size: Small
- Height: 2.5-3.5 feet
- Weight: 40-100 pounds
Heritages
- Scalawag — Mischievous, communal goblins born into enormous broods; fiercely loyal to their lineage and devoted to vibrant culture and absurd pursuits. See Scalawag.
- Etherweaver — Reserved goblins born with an attunement to non-basic elements; form smaller broods with stronger individual identity than their Scalawag cousins. See Etherweaver.
- Coghead — Goblins of Kobuk who graft aether-fed augmentations into their own flesh, a surviving fragment of a lost craft, holding gnomish tinkering in contempt. See Coghead.
- Darkling — Pitch-black shadow goblins of Lethos who subsist on rodents and bats, wielding impenetrable darkness that only they can see through. See Darkling.
- Rudding — Vengeful, justice-driven goblins of the Copper Hills who practice Deoric enchantment, ride domesticated Desert Mammoths, and prize copper above all. See Rudding.
- Blitzling — Electric goblins of the hills south of the Dunes of Kunagi who accumulate and discharge devastating bursts of static electricity. See Blitzling.
- Mudzwiti — Tribal jungle goblins adorned with bone piercings who ride utahraptors into battle and build elaborate tombs for their centuries-long-lived kings. See Mudzwiti.
- Spine Goblin — Goblins afflicted with a leprosy-like disease that drives bones through their skin; they weaponize the deformity by binding spikes to exposed bone. See Spine Goblin.
- Wydling (Icelings) — Pale blue frost goblins of the frozen north; patient nomadic hunters who track prey across the tundra in small family packs. See Wydling.
- Stravlar — Fire-attuned goblin scholars whose embossed tattoos record family history in living ink; skin scarring is considered a tragedy greater than death. See Stravlar.
- Aciabro — Goblins whose handmagic-cut augmentations run on their own blood, a surviving fragment of a lost craft, bound to a ruinous need to remake themselves. See Aciabro.
- Xibli — Blue-skinned aquatic goblins of the islands around Melrox living semi-aquatic lives in intertidal zones as freedom-loving hedonists. See Xibli.
Game mechanics
Cooperative
Passive ability. Whenever you help someone on a skill check, or take the help action in combat, you provide two levels of advantage rather than one, and they may add half of any single relevant aspect you have. You do not need to spend DP. If that creature is a goblin, they gain three levels of advantage instead.
Scalawag — Ankle biter
Passive ability. Rules for moving through and climbing on creatures larger than yourself apply even if the creature is only one size larger than you. You have advantage on all checks made to climb onto and hold onto those creatures. In addition, larger creatures do not count as difficult terrain, and occupying the same space as a hostile creatures provides one level of cover from attacks from all other creatures.
Etherweaver — Etherweaver
Passive ability. Choose and gain two attunements from the following list:
- Time
- Void
- Force
- Light
- Dark
Coghead — Tinkerer
Passive ability. Through the grafting craft your hold keeps secret, you bear an aether-fed augmentation cut into your own body. It is a relic of a lost art, not something the world at large can build or replace. Choose one of the following augmentations:
- Aether-lens eyes: Grafted multi-lens eyes that see heat in darkness (90 feet), invert light, and draw distant things close (10x magnification).
- Aether-thrust boots: Aether-fed boots that increase move speed by 10 feet and allow jumping 10 feet with 50-foot glide speed.
- Graft-tool arm: An arm remade into a cutting-and-working tool — saw-edge, blades, pliers, torch, and picks. Grants advantage on tool-related skill checks.
You may spend 4 XP to gain additional augmentations from this list.
Darkling — Umbral Mastery
Passive ability. You have an advanced attunement to darkness. Darkness you create cannot be seen through by any creature except other Darklings, and cannot be dispelled except by magical light. You have darkvision out to 120 feet and can see perfectly in any darkness, magical or natural.
Rudding — Blood Debt
Passive ability. When a creature deals damage to you or you perceive them as having wronged you, you may mark them for vengeance as an action. You always know the general direction and distance to marked creatures within 10 miles. You have advantage on all attack rolls and skill checks made against marked creatures.
Blitzling — Static Discharge
Passive ability. You accumulate static charge throughout combat. At the start of each round, gain 1 charge point (maximum 3). As an action, you may discharge all stored charge, dealing 1d6 lightning damage per charge point to all creatures within 5 feet of you. Creatures wearing metal armor take double damage. You take half the total damage dealt.
Mudzwiti — Raptor Bond
Passive ability. You gain the Beast Companion talent as a racial ability (it does not count towards the number of talents you have). Your companion is a utahraptor with Medium size, a climb speed of 20 feet, and claw attacks (1d8 damage). If your raptor dies, you may spend a week in the jungle to bond with a new one. You have advantage on all checks related to dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures.
Spine Goblin — Bone Spikes
Passive ability. Your exposed bones are fitted with sharp metal implements. Whenever a creature grapples you or hits you with an unarmed attack, they take 1d4 piercing damage. You may use your bone spikes as ultralight piercing weapons. Additionally, whenever a creature deals damage to you with a melee attack while within 5 feet, they take 1d4 piercing damage from your spikes.
Wydling — Frostbite
Passive ability. Your icy heritage grants you several adaptations. You are immune to the effects of freezing temperatures and take half damage from cold-based attacks. Your razor-sharp teeth count as ultralight piercing melee weapons. Additionally, when you deal damage with your bite, the bitten creature gains 2 level of slowed as numbing cold spreads from your icy fangs.
Stravlar — Ember Skin
Passive ability. Your tattoos channel your innate fire magic, granting you a basic attunement to fire. Additionally, your inked skin can flare with protective heat—when a creature grapples you or hits you with an unarmed attack, they take 1d4 fire damage. You can suppress or activate this heat at will.
Stravlar — Living Record
Passive ability. Your tattoos and training give you an eidetic memory for text, symbols, and historical facts. You have A2 on all checks related to history, lore, or recalling information you have previously encountered. You can read any language you have spent at least an hour studying, though you cannot speak it without additional training.
Aciabro — Sanguine Engine
Passive ability. Your grafted augmentations are powered by your own life force. As an action, you may spend up to 10 HP to supercharge your grafts. For each 2 HP spent, choose one benefit that lasts until the end of your next turn:
- Increase your movement speed by 10 feet
- Gain +1 to attack rolls
- Gain +1 to defense rolls
- Deal +1d4 damage with melee attacks
Aciabro — Jerry-Rigged Anatomy
Major ability. You can quickly repair or modify your grafts in the field. As an action, you may regain HP equal to your heart die roll, or immediately remove the slowed condition from yourself.
Xibli — Amphibious
Passive ability. You can breathe air and water equally well. You have a swim speed equal to your movement speed and can see clearly underwater. You suffer no penalties for fighting underwater, and your unarmed attacks deal +1d4 damage while submerged.
Xibli — Slippery Escape
Passive ability. Your skin secretes a slick coating that makes you difficult to hold. You have A2 on all checks to escape grapples or restraints. Additionally, creatures have D2 on attempts to grapple you.